PORT ST. LUCIE — Political newcomer JoAnn Faiella defeated City Councilman Chris Cooper by a comfortable margin Tuesday to become this city's new mayor.

Faiella garnered more than 55 percent of the vote in what some have characterized as the most contentious race in the city's history.

Faiella, 47, a records specialist and crime intelligence analyst at the Police Department, jumped into what was initially a 10-candidate race before the Aug. 24 primary and was a virtual unknown.

Backed by the city's police unions, she ran an aggressive campaign and reached out to small business owners promising to help existing businesses become sustainable.

She spent $42,090 on her campaign and focused heavily on advertising, as well as marketed herself as the person who would "put people before politics."

"The people have spoken in Port St. Lucie. They want to see new leadership, and we're here to bring it to them," Faiella said during her victory party Tuesday night. "And I'm very confident with the new people that were elected tonight that there's good things to come to Port St. Lucie.

"...People mean a lot to me, and this is a long time coming, and the people, they want to be listened to, and they want a voice in Port St. Lucie, and they never had that. We've always had that disconnect, and now we're going to connect the city back to one body."

Cooper, 51, a Palm Beach County firefighter and two-term city council member, ran on the city's accomplishments in the past eight years, touting the creation of a biotech jobs corridor in Tradition and the ability to attract award-winning movie animation studio Digital Domain Holdings. He spent $34,914 on his campaign.

Late in the campaign, Cooper said, if elected, one of his first priorities would be to explore the cost savings of merging the Police Department with the Sheriff's Office. He said Sheriff Ken Mascara told him it could potentially save the city $12 million. Cooper and the City Council have been criticized for "overspending" and critics have characterized the Civic Center and City Center developments as failed projects.

Cooper couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Faiella, who's husband, Pat, is a St. Lucie County Sheriff's deputy, said she wouldn't support a merger because the city should solve its own problems with a city-controlled Police Department.

Cooper has been at odds with the police unions over the unions' handling of contract negotiations and staging public protests denouncing council members. The unions also poked fun at city council members, dressed in Halloween costumes, in a billboard erected near the Shell Bazaar store on U.S. 1.

Cooper also has been under fire ever since his two sons, Jeffrey, 18, and Brian, 21, were arrested in April on charges of marijuana possession. Cooper's sons live with him and his wife, Ruth.

Faiella said one of her first priorities as mayor would be to reinstate 24 police officers who were laid off Sept. 24 because of budget cuts. She also said she would champion moving the city away from a city manager/city council form of government to a strong mayor form of government.

In the weeks leading up to the election, former mayoral candidate and political activist Victoria Huggins filed a complaint with the Florida Elections Commission against Faiella alleging she violated campaign finance laws and told people how to vote during the primary election. The commission is currently investigating the complaint.

Since Huggins openly supported Cooper throughout the campaign, Faiella accused Cooper as spurring the complaint.

Faiella has acknowledged making mistakes in her campaign finance reports and said the errors were unintentional and corrected.

Vice Mayor Jack Kelly, who with Cooper's defeat becomes the lone male voice on the City Council, said he wasn't surprised by the mayoral results.

"I thought the mayor's race was going to be a lot closer, but Mrs. Faiella worked very, very hard," Kelly said. "And I'm sure it will carry over into her mayoral ship. It may have been a nasty race, but it was the biggest win by any mayor in the 20 years that I've been here."